"The commission believes that the failure of the police to investigate effectively Ms Bhutto's assassination was deliberate," the report says.
"These officials, in part fearing intelligence agencies' involvement, were unsure of how vigorously they ought to pursue actions, which they knew, as professionals, they should have taken."

The report criticises the intelligence agencies for conducting parallel investigations, gathering evidence which was only selectively shared with the police.

Speaking at a news conference at the UN in New York, the head of the commission, Heraldo Munoz, said: "A range of government officials failed profoundly in their efforts, first to protect Ms Bhutto and second to investigate with vigour all those responsible for her murder, not only in the execution of the attack but also in its conception, planning and financing."

One of President Musharraf's aides, Rashid Qureshi, told the BBC: "The report makes absurd statements. The inquiry was not well conducted."
He insisted that President Musharraf was not in charge of Pakistani security at the time of the assassination as he had already resigned as head of the army.

Ms Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) - led by her widower, current President Asif Ali Zardari - said it was satisfied with the inquiry.
Senior party leaders told the BBC that the findings were "exactly what they had been saying all along".

And a presidential spokesman, Farhatullah Babar, said efforts to track down the perpetrators behind the assassination would be redoubled.
Publication delay
The commission was set up in July last year in response to a request from Pakistan. ............

Ms Bhutto herself had written that four suicide attack squads were after her, some linked to al-Qaeda.

But she also accused a group of senior politicians and intelligence officials of plotting to kill her, and many of her followers blame elements of the military establishment and President Musharraf's government for her death.

Actually, what does the report say that people had already not speculated?

There's a bit of whitewash approach because why spend so much in time and resources to produce a document that doesn't get to the nub and only reports what people had said all along?

We all suspect that Benazir's death was instigated at the request of someone in government/secret services. We just have to avoid being twee ... and be daring enough to mention perhaps that this assasination just might go back to some rogue Pakistani Presidents.

khyaal

04-17-2010, 02:27 PM

Actually, what does the report say that people had already not speculated?

There's a bit of whitewash approach because why spend so much in time and resources to produce a document that doesn't get to the nub and only reports what people had said all along?

We all suspect that Benazir's death was instigated at the request of someone in government/secret services. We just have to avoid being twee ... and be daring enough to mention perhaps that this assasination just might go back to some rogue Pakistani Presidents.

Actually the scope of investigation for UN commission had been made too narrow by the powerful Pakistani establishment. That's why.........

khyaal

04-17-2010, 02:56 PM

First they say Karzai knew.
now ISI.

what's next, Mossad?

But Mr. Karzai, Suadi government and US official were ultimately kept out of the investigation by Pakistan, though initially they were due to record their statements.

khyaal

04-17-2010, 03:11 PM

Although no functionary of the former government has been accused of complicity in the murder, the 65-page report has blamed Pervez Musharraf’s government, particularly its police and security network of negligence.
It said the present government was free to carry out further investigations and bring those responsible for the crime as well as negligence to justice.
Report of the UN Commission of inquiry of the assassination of Benzair Bhutto (http://www.dawn.com/mgimages/BB/BB_Report_15_April_2010.pdf)
The three-member panel, headed by Chilean ambassador Heraldo Munoz, submitted its report to UN Secretary General Ban ki Moon on Thursday afternoon. He immediately handed it over to Pakistan’s UN envoy Hussain Haroon. However, at the eleventh hour Islamabad decided against making its content public before the findings were studied by senior government officials.
Senior officials of Pakistan’s mission had earlier indicated that on receiving the UN Commission’s report Ambassador Hussain Haroon would share its findings at a news conference.
However, the media event was postponed at the last minute and it was announced that the findings would now be made public in Islamabad by senior members of the government. Still, the UN secretariat decided that it was too important a report to be kept hidden from the public, and at a hurriedly arranged news conference made the report public.
As people in Pakistan waited eagerly for the release of the findings of the UN probe body, security in the country was beefed up, with United Nations mission in Pakistan advising its staff to act cautiously and avoid going to public places.
Though details contained in the report were not known, UN officials stationed in Pakistan were not prepared to take any chances, fearing a possible backlash.
Pakistani officials said police and paramilitary troops were on high alert, and security was being stepped up outside the foreign missions and UN office, but only as a precautionary measure.
In Islamabad, a senior official earlier said there were no startling revelations in the report. The 3-member probe body headed by the Chilean ambassador to the UN has mostly relied on evidence collected by talking to the same set of officials and other people who had already made their views public. Analysts say its hard to believe that the Un panel would clear state its views on any major conspiracy involving state or non-state actors in the assassination.
The UN panel was to hand over its report on March 30 but on the request of the Pakistani authorities it delayed release by two weeks.
An official of the UN told the media in New York that despite this delay no fresh detatils were inserted into the report.

• UN probe was “hampered” by Pakistani intelligence

• Police failure to probe the assassination “deliberate”

• Security arrangements were “fatally insufficient”

• Several conspiracy theories have been circulating since the assassination

• Need for criminal investigation to look into the role of Al Qaeda, Taliban, and what is known in Pakistan as “establishment”

• Declaration by government that Benazir was killed by a hatch of the vehicle, and that Baitullah Mehsud was responsible were premature, and before proper investigation

• Hosing of the area of bomb blast and failure to conduct post-mortem badly affected investigation. Officials and their superior responsible

• Responsibility of the present government to carry out serious investigation to bring the conspirator and perpetrator of the crime to justice.

Just read the intial paragraph of the actual report and you will know everything.

Talal

04-17-2010, 06:48 PM

Dude this isnt anything new, ISI gets blamed for everything, so what exactly are you playing at ?

pir_Rokhan

04-17-2010, 08:54 PM

Dude this isnt anything new, ISI gets blamed for everything, so what exactly are you playing at ?

And I was expecting some informative and balanced analysis from you instead.

Talal

04-17-2010, 09:15 PM

And I was expecting some informative and balanced analysis from you instead.

Rokhan yar there isnt much to analyse here, this report might come as a shock to foreigners but to us pakistan it pretty much says what we all know or rather speculate. I say speculate because even the UN's report is based on censored information. The end result, the case studies they all allude to something thats not definitive.

As far as my conspiracy theory goes; This was an inside job, and the reason i dont think it was musharraf's doing is because he wasnt competent enough to pull off something like this. His reputation was already an all time low at this point so he had nothing to gain from such a debacle. The only thing that stands out about this assassination from others is that in this case the people who wanted her dead and who eventually succeeded in that were different from those who facilitated it. Zardari has picked off and killed every single one of the bhuttos, and he is the only person who had to gain the most from this. But Zardari didnt have brains nor the guts to pull it off, and therefore, he was 'facilitated' by people from the inside, and these people are the same people who made sure Musharraf put enough safeguards in place before he left, so that no one would be able to go after zardari after musharraf left.

But mine like many others is a conspiracy theory, but one thing for sure this wasnt an 'accidental assasination' and by that i mean the lapse in security was deliberate not accidental

khyaal

04-18-2010, 01:58 AM

Dude this isnt anything new, ISI gets blamed for everything, so what exactly are you playing at ?

But ISI shouldn't get worried, it has many advocate already everywhere. You better read the report. The accusations are from UN commission not from some Pashtun/Afghan, Indian or US officials.

khyaal

04-18-2010, 02:00 AM

PPP core committee asks PM to take legal action against all those involved in Benazir’s assassination, including Musharraf
* Malik asked to put nominated officials on ECL

By Saeed Minhas

ISLAMABAD: Basing their conclusions on a report unveiled by a UN inquiry commission, central leaders of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) have held former president Pervez Musharraf responsible for the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, as he “failed” to provide the former prime minister the required security cover.

A meeting of the core group of the PPP – which was presided over by Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and attended by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani – was held at the Presidency to discuss the UN report.

Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said that in light of the UN commission report, “there is no doubt” that Musharraf was responsible for Benazir’s murder and would have to face legal proceedings.

Babar said the UN commission’s report had, in fact, endorsed the party’s position that Musharraf wanted to “eliminate her”.

“The PPP has reiterated its resolve to ... bring to justice all those, including Musharraf ... involved in the criminal act,” he said.

Legal action: Babar said the core committee of the party had asked the prime minister to take appropriate legal action in light of the report – which calls on the authorities to determine criminal responsibility for planning and carrying out the assassination.

Party sources told Daily Times that it had been decided to launch stern administrative and legal action against all government officials who failed to provide security to Benazir. The party also decided to launch departmental action against officials responsible for providing security to Benazir in and around Liaqat Bagh on December 27, 2007.

However, no consensus could be reached on the role of other political personalities mentioned in the UN report, which include Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and Rehman Malik. A final decision may likely be made at the next meeting of the committee.

The sources confirmed that action would be sought against then Punjab home secretary Khusro Pervaiz, then Rawalpindi DCO Irfan Elahi, then Rawalpindi CPO Saud Aziz, then IB director general Brig (r) Ejaz Shah, then federal interior secretary Kamal Shah, Major Imtiaz and others.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik has been asked to put the names of these officials on the ECL, while the establishment secretary has been asked to transfer to the OSD pool all officials nominated in the report.

The title implies that the Musharraf government was complicit in the assassination, when the point being made is that the Musharraf government, and the PPP as well since they were 'jointly providing security', exhibited a lack of professionalism.

khyaal

04-18-2010, 02:30 AM

The title implies that the Musharraf government was complicit in the assassination, when the point being made is that the Musharraf government, and the PPP as well since they were 'jointly providing security', exhibited a lack of professionalism.

PPP is a political party and not some security agency. Besides, it was the responsibility of state institutions to provide her security but instead they became complicit in her murder. This is the strangest thing about this and many other political murders in Pakistan. Not to speak of the past, just in recent past recall the murder of Balach Muree, Akbar Bugti, the grandsonof Bugti, Murtaza Bhutto, Shah Nawaz Bhutto etc.

Talal

04-18-2010, 02:45 AM

^ theories at best ISI maybe involved maybe not..there is no evidence to pin them to this and anyways they have fried bigger fish then bhuttos so i dont get what the big deal is ?

khyaal

04-18-2010, 03:00 AM

^ theories at best ISI maybe involved maybe not..there is no evidence to pin them to this and anyways they have fried bigger fish then bhuttos so i dont get what the big deal is ?

But we don't see anything of their achievements except perpetual US and Western AID, rahter Pakistan has become a country of scoundrels and beggars.

Talal

04-18-2010, 03:02 AM

^ Your confusing Pakistan with Afghanistan

pir_Rokhan

04-19-2010, 01:46 AM

In my opinion the BB murder was done by Alqaida facilitated by establishment [ISI in particular].Alqaida does not like secular democrats and military doesnt like popular leaders.History has already proved this point like the execution of ZAB by Zia [Military] using judiciary of time and coup de tat against Nawaz govt in 1998 by Musharraf [Military].The hatred for secularists by Alqaida is self explanatory.

Talal

04-19-2010, 04:47 AM

In my opinion the BB murder was done by Alqaida facilitated by establishment [ISI in particular].Alqaida does not like secular democrats and military doesnt like popular leaders.History has already proved this point like the execution of ZAB by Zia [Military] using judiciary of time and coup de tat against Nawaz govt in 1998 by Musharraf [Military].The hatred for secularists by Alqaida is self explanatory.

I agree to an extent on your analysis, you and i may yet become friends.

Here's a report that details the investigation and links though

LAHORE: As Pakistan and the world wait for the UN report on Benazir Bhutto’s assassination today (Thursday), it has been revealed that the Punjab police had already told the UN Inquiry Commission that the murderers of Benazir had been traced, arrested and are being tried.

Her assassination was an open and shut case for the Punjab police, which had instantly solved it way back in February 2008 by tracing the mastermind of the Liaquat Bagh suicide attack as well as the suicide bomber, who had blown himself up on December 27, 2007 in Rawalpindi, the UN has been told.

Whether the UN report takes this investigation into account and how much importance it is given will be seen in the report of the UN commission.

According to well informed diplomatic sources in Islamabad, the United Nations Inquiry Commission, headed by Heraldo Munoz, was informed by the CID officials during the course of its investigations that the assassination of Benazir Bhutto had been masterminded by the slain Ameer of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Commander Baitullah Mehsud and the bomber, who exploded himself outside the Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi, was one Saeed alias Bilal, a resident of South Waziristan Agency.

According to official documents provided to the UN Inquiry Commission by the CID Punjab, a group of 12 militants was actually dispatched to the garrison town of Rawalpindi, a day prior to Benazir Bhutto’s December 27, 2007 election rally, to physically eliminate the PPP leader, who was touring Punjab in connection with her party’s election campaign. The FIR of the Benazir Bhutto murder case was registered by the Rawalpindi police under sections 302/324,435,436,120-B/4/5ESA,7/ATA while investigations were carried out by the Additional Inspector General CID Punjab Chaudhry Abdul Majeed.

According to the CID documents, four of the 12 militants tasked to kill Benazir Bhutto belonged to Madrassa Haqqania in Akora Khattak near Peshawar, which is also referred to as Darul Uloom Haqqania. The Madrassa is being run by Maulana Samiul Haq, the pro-Taliban Ameer of his own faction of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam. Three of the 12 TTP militants have been shown in the CID documents as already killed, including the suicide bomber. Of the remaining nine accused, five have already been arrested by police while the remaining four are still at large.

Additional Inspector General of the CID Punjab, Malik Mohammad Iqbal, when asked if the Punjab CID still owns its findings into the Benazir Bhutto murder case, said the assassination inquiry was actually conducted by a Joint Investigation Team (JIT), which was headed by the then additional DIG CID and representatives of the Rawalpindi police.

He said it was a joint probe on the basis of which the challan of Benazir Bhutto murder case had been submitted with a Rawalpindi anti-terrorism court, which still holds ground and the trial of the arrested accused is still on.

The remaining five accused already in the custody of the Rawalpindi police and being tried for the Benazir Bhutto murder include Rafaqat, Hasnain Gul, Sher Zaman, Rasheed Ali and Aitzaz Shah.

According to the findings of the CID, Baitullah Mehsud had given Rs 400,000 to one Qari Ismail, who subsequently dispatched a group of suicide bombers and shooters to Rawalpindi to kill Benazir Bhutto.

The UN Commission was told by some senior CID officials that the TTP militants had planned to target Benazir Bhutto in different cities, wherever she was going in connection with her campaign, until she was finally killed.

According to the CID narrative, 15-year-old Aitzaz Shah from the Mansehra district of the NWFP, and his co-accomplice Sher Zaman, reportedly trained at Miramshah, were the first ones to be arrested after the Benazir Bhutto murder from Dera Ismail Khan by a joint investigation team of the Punjab police, headed by Chaudhry Abdul Majeed. Two more suspects, Hasnain Gul and Rafaqat, were later arrested from Rawalpindi. Rasheed Ali was the last one to be nabbed but Aitzaz was the first one to have furnished some vital information to his interrogators pertaining to the Benazir murder.

As the police obtained physical remand of the arrested accused and broadened the scope of investigations, it was learnt that Aitzaz Shah had actually obtained Jihadi training from a well known Deobandi religious school in Karachi — Jamia Binoria, also referred to as Jamia Islamia and known for its pro-Taliban leanings. As per the CID report, after being brainwashed and trained to kill, Aitzaz was sent to South Waziristan from where he had travelled to Darul Uloom Haqqania Madrassa in Akora Khattak. Afterwards, Aitzaz was taken to a Jihadi training centre in Akora Khattak - Wali Mohammad Markaz and tasked with the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

According to the CID findings, Baitullah had provided Rs 50,000, a suicide jacket and other necessary items to someone else, but he could not attack Benazir Bhutto. After his suicide bombers’ failure to hunt down the PPP chairperson in Karachi, Peshawar and other places, Baitullah Mehsud had assigned Qari Ismail of Akora Khattak and given him Rs 400,000 to execute the Benazir assassination plan. After reaching the Rawalpindi bus stand on December 26, the assailants had stayed at a Quaid-i-Azam colony house. In the evening, they visited the Liaquat Bagh site in a taxi and decided after surveying the area to hit their target from different directions during or after the public meeting.

As per the assassination plan, Saeed alias Bilal was to carry out the suicide attack in case he failed to shoot down Benazir while Ikramullah was to detonate himself if Saeed failed. Both Saeed and Ikramullah were provided logistics by Hasnain Gul, including an explosive-laden suicide jacket, a pistol and an optical device.

The assailants had reached the Committee Chowk in a taxi and later gone to the Liaquat Bagh via Iqbal Road and College Road. An unarmed militant went inside the Liaquat Bagh to give his accomplices updates about the movement of Benazir Bhutto, especially about her arrival and departure from the venue of the rally. As per the CID claims, the assailants had first attempted to enter the Liaquat Bagh to carry out a suicide attack close to the stage, but they had failed in their designs, chiefly due to foolproof security arrangements.

The UN Commission was further informed that several suicide bombers and sharp shooters were waiting for the PPP leader at the crime scene outside the Liaquat Bagh after their failure to enter the venue. Going by the CID account, the assailants had started chasing Benazir Bhutto as soon as she came out of the Liaquat Bagh and it was none other than the fearless PPP chairperson, who actually provided them with a golden opportunity to target her, when she decided to come out of her bullet proof vehicle Toyota Land Cruiser from its sunroof to wave to her cheerful supporters. That was the time gunshots were fired, aiming at Benazir Bhutto. As Saeed alias Bilal failed to hit Benazir Bhutto, he blew himself up, killing the PPP leader and 23 others, mostly on the spot. However, the Dopatta, which Benazir Bhutto was wearing at the time of the blast, could not be traced despite frantic efforts by the investigators.

Narrating the motivation of the crime, the CID findings say the accused had said during interrogations that they were annoyed over the pro-West approach of Benazir Bhutto who had returned to Pakistan at the behest of some foreign powers and, therefore, they feared a strong government action against the militants if she was allowed to come to power after the elections.

However, the fact remains that much before coming to power after the 2008 general elections; the PPP leadership had rejected the confession made by Aitzaz Shah and his other accomplices about their involvement in the Benazir Bhutto murder.

The then PPP spokesman and now presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar had described Aitzaz’s confession a **** and bull story intended to reduce pressure on the Musharraf regime, saying the arrested youth, who has already been declared a juvenile by the court, had been made to narrate exactly the kind of things the Pakistani authorities wanted to hear, backing up their earlier conclusions reached within hours of the Benazir Bhutto killing.

The trial of the five accused in Benazir Bhutto murder case was deferred on August 22, 2009 by the Rawalpindi anti-terrorism court following a federal government request to transfer the case to the Federal Investigation Agency so as to enable it to arrive at a definitive conclusion. Subsequently, on August 25, 2009, the federal government had formed a high-level team to re-investigate the Benazir murder.

The Special Investigation Group of the FIA was assigned the task to fix criminal liability on the assassins and planners of the gun-and-bomb attack on Benazir Bhutto. It was announced that the SIG’s investigation would be parallel to the probe being carried out by the United Nations Inquiry Commission.

“The main reason for the fresh probe is that the inquiry report to be prepared by the UN Commission can’t be presented before any court of law as desired by the UN. The government requires a separate investigation report for a proper trial against the criminals in the court”, a senior FIA official had said on August 25 in Rawalpindi, adding that the United Nations report would have no legal standing and it could not be used for prosecution.

When this correspondent tried to take version of Jamia Binoria, Karachi, no responsible person was found. However, the person present there termed the Punjab police-CID report malicious and baseless. Expressing similar sentiments, a person in Madrassa Haqqania, Akora Khattak, said this report is part of the campaign to discredit religious schools.